Adding Your First Tank
A tank profile is the foundation of everything in ReefTanker. All your parameter readings, ICP tests, dosing logs, and charts are organized by tank — so let's create one.
Creating a Tank
You can create a tank from two places: the empty-state Dashboard when you first sign in, or the Tank Management page at any time.
Steps
- 1 Open Tank Management from the sidebar (gear icon on mobile)
- 2 Click the Add Tank button in the top right
- 3 Fill in the tank details (see fields below)
- 4 Click Save Tank
Tank Fields Explained
The only required field is the tank name. Everything else is optional and can be configured later.
Tank Name Required
A display name for your tank. Use something descriptive like "150g Display", "Frag Tank", or "Quarantine". This name appears in the tank selector throughout the app.
Volume (gallons) Optional
The total water volume of your system in gallons. This is used by the Salt Calculator to compute how much salt mix you need for water changes. You can enter your total system volume (tank + sump) for the most accurate calculations.
Active Tank Default: On
Controls whether this tank appears in the tank selector dropdown. Turn this off for tanks you've decommissioned but want to keep the historical data for. Inactive tanks won't appear in the selector but their data is preserved.
Neptune Apex Integration (Optional)
If you run a Neptune Apex controller, you can connect it to pull pH, temperature, and salinity readings directly from your probes. This is configured per tank.
Connection fields
- Apex Local IP Address — The local network IP of your Apex controller (e.g.,
192.168.1.100). Find this in Apex Fusion under Settings → Network → Local IP. - Username — Only needed if your Apex requires authentication. Leave blank if you haven't set a password on the local interface.
- Password — Only needed if authentication is enabled. For security, the password is never displayed after saving.
Tip: Once configured, a Sync Apex button appears on your Dashboard. Click it any time to pull the latest probe readings from your controller. Your device must be on the same local network as the Apex.
Custom Parameter Targets
ReefTanker ships with sensible default target ranges for all 8 parameters. However, every tank is different — SPS-dominant systems, mixed reefs, and soft-coral tanks all have different ideal ranges. You can customize targets per tank to match your methodology.
How to customize targets
- 1 When creating or editing a tank, click Custom Target Ranges (Optional) to expand the section
- 2 For any parameter you want to adjust, enter a Target, Warning Min, and Warning Max
- 3 Leave fields blank to keep the defaults — the placeholder text shows you the default value
- 4 Save the tank — Dashboard cards, charts, and status indicators will all use your custom ranges
What the target fields mean
- Target — Your ideal value. Shown as the dashed reference line on charts.
- Warning Min — The lower boundary of your acceptable range. Values below this show as "Critical" on parameter cards.
- Warning Max — The upper boundary. Values above this also show as "Critical".
Default target ranges
These are the out-of-the-box defaults for every new tank. Customize any that don't match your approach.
| Parameter | Target | Min | Max |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alkalinity dKH | 9.0 | 7.5 | 11.0 |
| Calcium ppm | 420 | 380 | 480 |
| Magnesium ppm | 1350 | 1200 | 1450 |
| Salinity sg | 1.025 | 1.020 | 1.028 |
| pH | 8.2 | 7.8 | 8.6 |
| Temperature °F | 78 | 74 | 82 |
| Nitrate ppm | 5 | 0 | 20 |
| Phosphate ppm | 0.05 | 0 | 0.2 |
Managing Multiple Tanks
You can create as many tanks as you need. Each tank has its own set of readings, ICP tests, dosing logs, and custom targets — completely independent.
Switching between tanks
Use the tank selector on the Dashboard or in the sidebar to switch your active view. All pages — Dashboard, Parameters, ICP Tests, Dosing Log — will filter to the selected tank.
Editing a tank
On the Tank Management page, click the gear icon next to any tank to edit its name, volume, Apex settings, or custom targets. Changes take effect immediately.
Deactivating vs. deleting
Deactivating a tank (toggling Active off) hides it from the tank selector but keeps all historical data intact. Use this when you tear down a tank but want to reference old readings later.
Deleting a tank permanently removes the tank and all associated data — readings, ICP tests, and dosing logs. This cannot be undone. A confirmation dialog ensures you don't delete a tank by accident.
Warning: Deleting a tank is permanent. All parameter readings, ICP tests, and dosing logs associated with that tank will be permanently removed. If you just want to hide a tank, deactivate it instead.